2 pages Essay Assignment due 10 pm 20th EST

Case Study 1

Western fashion brands source garment from Bangladesh for a variety of reasons. The first and primary reason stems from the cheap availability of labor in Bangladesh. As Hira & Benson-Rea (2017) vividly point out, Bangladeshi minimum wage for the textile and apparel industry is one of the lowest in the world. This creates major economies of scale for fashion brands that source garments from the nation. Many companies also exploit child labor, a factor that can shield them from meeting their obligations for minimum pay (Hira & Benson-Rea, 2017).

The other important factor that can explain why Western fashion brands choose to source garment from Bangladesh is the deficient or less stringent regulatory environment in the nation. Besides deficient labor laws that undermine workers’ minimum wage requirements and place little emphasis on the working conditions of apparel employees, Bangladesh also lacks stringent environmental laws and most manufacturers do not have the proper policies or procedures for environmental protection (Rahman, 2014). To some Western fashion brands, this loophole creates an opportunity in which they can maximize their profits from sourcing garments in Bangladesh.

Overall, making garments for western fashion brands provides some benefits as well as numerous drawbacks for Bangladesh. The fashion industry is one of the major sectors that contribute to economic development in Bangladesh, with Rahman (2014) estimating that the industry accounts for approximately 79% of the GDP. Furthermore, the industry is one of the biggest employers in the nation. With the high number of people living below poverty rate in Bangladesh, the garment industry ostensibly helps to alleviate some poverty in the nation’s citizens. In spite of these perceived benefits, the conditions that the garment industry places individuals in pose a great shortcoming and override the benefits accrued by the industry.

It is worth mentioning that various parties share the responsibility for the Rana Plaza Tragedy that claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 garment workers (Rahman, 2014). These parties include the US companies that source from Rana Plaza, and the Bangladesh government. The following table summarizes the responsibility of these parties in the tragedy.

Parties	Primary, minor or no responsibility	Reasons
U.S. fashion companies which sources from Rana Plaza	Minor Responsibility	While the companies sourcing from Rana Plaza knew of the plight of workers in the facility, they were nonetheless not directly responsible for the collapse, as they had no direct role in assuring safety or structural integrity of the building.
Factory owner of Rana Plaza	Primary Responsibility	The owner of Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana, had the greatest responsibility for the tragedy because he ignored warnings about cracks in the building and threatened workers who failed to show for work even as the collapse seemed imminent (Hira & Benson-Rea, 2017).
Bangladeshi government	Major Responsibility	The Bangladeshi government has the responsibility of assuring structural integrity of all building in its jurisdiction. It failed to carry out this role through lack of proper inspection and corruption of government officials, ultimately leading to the collapse.
U.S. consumers	No Responsibility	Many US consumers did not have a good understanding of the conditions in which the clothes they purchase came from. As such, they bear no responsibility for the collapse.

The Raza Plaza tragedy was attributable to various factors, with the inspection mechanism being a major contributor. Media reports affirm that a day prior to the collapse, workers at the facility saw huge cracks but the authorities failed to take any precautionary steps. Similarly, the building owner allegedly told the media that the cracks were nothing serious, threatening workers with a month’s salary cut if they did not report to work (Sinkovics, Hoque, & Sinkovics, 2016). Various government authorities also failed to monitor and inspect the structure periodically, a factor attributable to the devastating collapse of the building. If all the appropriate mechanisms to inspect and monitor the building were in place, then there is a higher likelihood that the collapse could have been averted (Rahman, 2014). Installing properly working fire doors and sprinklers may also have contributed greatly to improving the safety of the facility and minimizing the casualty figures.

Accord and the Alliance have significantly improved social responsibility practices in the Bangladesh garment industry. According to Sinkovics et al. (2016), factories covered by the Accord and Alliance following the tragedy have become much safer in part due to the fact they underwent extension inspections and put in place measures to fix any identified problems, with those not complying barred from working with member companies. Results from the study by Sinkovics et al. (2016) also established that the pressure for compliance forced “companies to prioritize the implementation of measurable standards over the socially grounded needs and priorities of workers”. In my personal opinion, it is not a mistake to ask Accord and the Alliance to leave Bangladesh after 2018. This is because Accord and the Alliance have spearheaded many initiatives including the formation of functional Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) committees that have bolstered inspection efforts and contributed to increased safety in garment facilities (Hira & Benson-Rea, 2017).

Automation technology can indeed be a viable solution to the social responsibility problem in the Bangladeshi garment industry. With such technology, companies can be able to track and monitor various aspects directly related to the welfare of garment employees. Hira & Benson-Rea (2017) contend that this can ultimately improve working conditions for the workers while simultaneously ensuring that all companies are responsive to the needs of workers and have a great commitment to CSR initiatives.

References

Hira, A., & Benson-Rea, M. (2017). Governing corporate social responsibility in the apparel industry after Rana Plaza (1 ed.). New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rahman, S. (2014). Broken promises of globalization : The case of the Bangladesh garment industry (1 ed.). Lanham: Lexington Books.

Sinkovics, N., Hoque, S., & Sinkovics, R. (2016). Rana Plaza collapse aftermath: are CSR compliance and auditing pressures effective?". Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal , 29 (4), 617-649.